All Rise...

The Charge

"King of like those Twilight
movies…but these vampires are actually supposed to be
funny."—Raising the Stakes

The Case

There was an article floating around back during the 2008 election fever that
claimed Republican presidencies saw a rise in zombie films, while their
Democratic counterparts inspired vampire flicks. I'll leave it as an exercise to
the reader to figure out the political implications of these associations.
Whether this is a tried-and-true trend is debatable, but no one will argue that
Dubya presided over some great zombie flicks (28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead come to mind), while
all the Twilight fever came around during
Obama's days in office. Apparently the guys at IWC Films (short for, Idiots with
Cameras) didn't get the memo, as their first two features are a vampire and
zombie movie, respectively. They're shlocky, low-budget, cheap films that had
long been out of print. Now fans who didn't snap up the original DVDs can grab
both these early IWC films in one place.

This double feature DVD includes two films on one disc. Raising the
Stakes is the story of a pair of friends (played by IWC regulars Josh Lively
and Zane Crosby) who are obsessed with vampires. So obsessed, in fact, that they
want to turn themselves into vampires to get revenge on all the bullies who have
tormented them. They get a potion that promises fangs, but things do not go as
well as the pair had hope. Die and Let Live is the IWC Films entry into
the low-budget zombie comedy race. In this case a lovelorn young man invites the
girl of his dreams to a house party while a zombie outbreak rages in his town.
Now he must defend his home and his lady fair against the undead hordes.

These two films fit neatly into the no-budget horror-comedy genre. There are
the requisite pop culture references (Star
Trek: The Original Series! Twilight!), Karo-flavored gore, bad
acting, as well as blink-and-you'll-miss-it run times. There's really very
little to distinguish these flicks from every other "We're friends and we
have a video camera." Still, they do have two things going for them that
puts them slightly ahead of their no-budget brethren. The first is the fact that
they find themselves funny. No, not in that arrogant, "Hey, look at me, I'm
funny" kind of way, but more that they're making their movies because they
love getting decked out in gore and filming each other. That gives these films a
charm that crowd-pleasing films of this nature often lack. By trying to hard to
ape their favorite films, lots of low-budget films go overboard. Not the IWC
guys. Sure they have their share of The
Evil Dead references, but it doesn't feel forced. In the same vein, their
second strength is the fact that they simply do not take themselves even
slightly seriously. These films are obviously labors of love, but the crew do
everything possible to avoid coming off as pretentious. This unpretentious vibe
contributes the films' charm.

This release is also helped by the fact that the IWC guys are fans, so they
know how to put together a DVD release. As the liner notes reveal, these flicks
were out of print on DVD, and to get them back to their fans, a double feature
release was the way to go. However, for purists, note that this is the 12-minute
shorter "Director's Cut" of Raising the Stakes, and it's now
the preferred version. Very little of the material from those old DVDs made it
on here. Instead, we get a pair of newly minted commentaries for the features.
The crew of Justin Channell, Zane Crosby, and Joshua Lively sit down for these,
and the trio are obviously old friends. They dish production info,
behind-the-scenes stories, and tidbits about their inspirations. With three of
them, the info flows freely, with few dead spots. In addition to these
commentaries, we get three different short films from the crew: "A Fetal
Mistake" (with commentary), "Monorail," and "The Best
Saturday Ever." Then there's a featurette on the group's early years
featuring interviews from the guys along with excerpts from their early film
experiments. Finally, the disc includes a set of promos and trailers for IWC
productions.

Unsurprisingly, given the no-budget nature of these films (someone throws
out the budget of Raising the Stakes as $100), they don't look so hot on
DVD. These were produced with consumer-grade equipment, and since most of the
films take place at night or in dimly lit interiors, don't expect stellar video
quality. Similarly, the simple stereo mixes keep the dialogue audible, but
little else. Finally, those who have no interest in blood-soaked horror-comedy
made by film geeks should steer clear of these flicks.

The IWC Films Collection Double Feature is a fine release for these
no-budget horror comedies. They won't go to the top of anyone's favorite flick
list, but they offer a respectable collection of chuckles and some decent gore.
Worth at least a rental for fans, and Troma-heads will appreciate cameos by
regulars Lloyd Kaufman, Trent Haaga, and Debbie Rochon (in voice at least).

The Verdict

While the not the greatest no-budget films, these flicks are not guilty.